After 10 Glorious Years, Sunshine State News and I Are Passing the Baton

On Tuesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar named Shannon Estenoz of the South Florida Water Management District to be director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives, replacing Terrence Rock Salt, who was promoted to principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army handling civil works issues.

Both of Floridas two U.S. senators voted on Tuesday morning to ban congressional earmarks. The measure fell short, with only 39 senators -- including Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican George LeMieux from Florida -- voting to support the ban. "Earmarks might make up only a fraction of federal spending, but they encourage members to approve the larger bills in which there are massive spending increases, said LeMieux. Some annual appropriations bills grow 5, 10 and 20 percent each year and we cannot sustain that level of growth.

With Wednesday designated as World AIDS Day, the Florida Department of Health stressed the importance of the federal HIV/AIDS strategy which looks to reduce the number of people infected with HIV and create greater access to health care for people with HIV

With Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez trying to sell CITGO, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, the ranking Republican on the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, unleashed a barrage of criticism on Tuesday morning. Hugo Chavez faces potential penalties for expropriating U.S. businesses, and more importantly, because Venezuela will likely be found in violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran, said Mack. Such actions rightfully jeopardize the success of a Venezuelan government-owned business on U.S. soil.